Chương 7
“What did Jonah say?”
“That Lily had become concerned about discrepancies between raw instrument outputs and a summary report prepared for a regulatory submission.”
“So she was right.”
“He also said discrepancies happen and are reviewed.”
“Did he tell Grant?”
“He says no.”
“Do you believe him?”
Soto’s gaze moved toward the door. “I believe Jonah is afraid of losing six years of work, his visa sponsorship, and the recommendation that determines whether he has a career. Fear makes people remember strategically.”
“What does Grant say?”
“He says Lily misunderstood preliminary data.”
“And last night?”
“Home with his wife.”
“Confirmed?”
“His wife confirms it.”
“That doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“No.”
Soto stood.
“Do not speak to Jonah again without me.”
“I want to know what he knows.”
“So do I. The difference is I need him willing to answer tomorrow.”
A local television station learned about the assault before evening.
The first report described Lily as a Bradley sophomore found injured “near campus property.” The university issued a statement saying there was no known continuing threat and that officials were supporting local law enforcement.
Near campus property.
Daniel read the phrase three times.
Carver Science Center stood in the middle of campus, connected to two other buildings by enclosed walkways. Calling it near campus property was like calling the White House near Washington.
Students began posting photographs of broken lights, camera blind spots, and unanswered safety complaints. Others insisted Bradley was safe and accused people of exploiting a tragedy. One anonymous account claimed Lily had been buying drugs. Another said the attack involved “a relationship issue.”
Karen took Daniel’s phone away after he replied to the anonymous account.
“I asked for evidence,” he said.
“You called them a coward.”
“They are a coward.”
“You’re using your full name and rank.”
“My rank isn’t on the account.”
“Your profile picture is you receiving a medal.”
He looked at the photograph. He had forgotten it was there.
Karen changed the phone’s settings so strangers could not tag him. Daniel accused her of treating him like a child. She said he was behaving like one. They argued in whispers beside the ice machine until a nurse asked them to stop.
At midnight, Soto returned with bad news.
Wade Rusk’s truck had been found at a commuter rail station forty miles away. A surveillance camera showed him entering a southbound train at 8:02 that morning. He had paid cash for the ticket.
“Where does the train go?” Daniel asked.
“Eventually, St. Louis. He got off before then. We’re checking stations.”
“He’s running.”
“Yes.”
“Can you issue a warrant?”
“We have one for tampering with evidence and obstruction.”
“Not assault?”
“Not yet.”
Daniel looked through the glass panel in Lily’s door. Karen was asleep in the chair beside the bed, her chin resting on her chest.
“What are you not telling me?”
Soto hesitated.
“Say it.”
“Rusk’s wife reported that he took a handgun.”
The next morning, Daniel left the hospital for the first time.
Karen insisted. He needed a shower, clean clothes, and his blood pressure medication. He had missed two doses. The nurse had noticed.
His house felt staged after twenty-eight hours at Mercy General. A mug sat in the sink. A folded newspaper waited on the kitchen table. His refrigerator hummed with insulting normality.
He showered and changed into jeans and a gray sweater. When he reached for a jacket, he saw Lily’s old soccer cleats on the top shelf of the coat closet.
They were too small for her now and covered with dried mud from a tournament six years earlier. Daniel had kept them because he kept objects instead of admitting he missed people. Lily mocked him for it.
“You’re one cardboard box away from becoming a documentary,” she had said.
He closed the closet.
His phone rang.
The caller blocked the number.
Daniel answered without speaking.
For several seconds, he heard only breathing.
Then a man said, “I didn’t hit her.”
“Rusk?”
“I didn’t know he would do that.”
Daniel gripped the kitchen counter.
“Who?”
“I thought we were getting the phone. That was all.”
“Who attacked Lily?”
“I can’t.”
“You called an ambulance.”
Another silence.
“You used the wall phone,” Daniel said. “You moved her outside.”
“She was choking.”
“Who attacked her?”
“I’m sorry.”
Daniel heard traffic in the background and a repetitive electronic tone. A pedestrian crossing signal.
“Where are you?”
“I can’t go to prison.”
“You left my daughter bleeding on concrete.”
“I called.”
“You stood in her hospital room.”
“I needed to know if she could talk.”
The honesty of it made Daniel’s vision blur.
“Tell me who hit her.”
“He’ll come after my family.”
“Who?”
The call ended.
Daniel immediately called Soto. She traced nothing useful; the call had passed through an internet relay service. He described the crossing signal and traffic noise. Soto said half the cities in the country used the same signal.
“He said ‘he,’” Daniel repeated.
“I heard you.”
“He was there to take the phone. Someone else hit her.”
“That matches what he said.”
“You still sound cautious.”
“Because people lie when they’re scared. He may be separating himself from the violence.”
“He called the ambulance.”
“That may mean guilt. It may also mean he wanted her found before she died and could identify him.”
Daniel pressed his fingers against his eyes.
“What do you need from me?” he asked.
“Come to the station and give a recorded statement about the call.”
“I’m going back to the hospital first.”
“Fine. Do not tell the media.”
“I haven’t spoken to them.”
“Your argument with Jonah Price is online.”
Daniel lowered his hand. “What?”
“A student recorded it. The clip starts after you grabbed him. It looks worse than you remember.”
May you like
The video spread quickly.
By the time Daniel returned to Mercy General, one version had been viewed more than two hundred thousand times. It showed him blocking Jonah against the wall, one hand on the younger man’s arm, his face close and hard.
